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Nexus 5 versus Nexus 4: Battle of the generations

Kris Carlon2013-10-31T19:09:59ZOct 31, 2013

Kris Carlon
Kris Carlon comes to the AndroidPIT Editorial Team via a lengthy period spent traveling and relying on technology to keep him in touch with the outside world. He joined the Android community while resurfacing in civilization back in 2010 and has never looked back, using technology to replace his actual presence in other people's lives ever since. He can usually be found juggling three phones at once and poring over G+ posts, Reddit and RSS feeds.

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Google has unveiled the Nexus 5, the next generation of Google's own smartphone line. The Nexus 5 smartphone, which was built by LG, as was its predecessor the Nexus 4, is a significant development in almost all points. What's new in the new Nexus and what looks familiar can be seen in our comparison of the technical specifications of the two devices.

The Nexus 5 features, as the name implies, a 5-inch display at Full HD resolution. There's a big jump in processor with the new Nexus 5 rocking a quad-core Snapdragon 800 at 2.3 GHz and the new Nexus has also gained increased storage from 8 and 16 GB models to 16 and 32 GB models. The prices are relatively standard considering the increase in storage capacity with the 16 and 32 GB Nexus 5 versions costing a neat 299 and 349 USD respectively. The 16 GB models are at the same price point across both generations.

The Nexus 5 also has a vastly improved 8 MP camera with optical image stabilization, but we'll need to wait until ours arrives to confirm the camera's performance. The Nexus 5 supports LTE and of course runs the newest version of the Android OS, 4.4 KitKat straight out of the box. The Nexus 5 has a minor bump in battery capacity but KitKat will purportedly improve battery performance a lot, making the difference really noticeable. Of course, the Nexus 4 should also enjoy these memory and battery optimizations that the update in Android version will bring. On a last note, the size difference is negligible but the Nexus 5 has a slightly larger footprint than its predecessor. However, the Nexus 5 is actually thinner and lighter than the Nexus 4. An impressive feat from Google and LG.

NEXUS 5

NEXUS 4

Manufacturer

LG

LG

Operating System

Android 4.4

Android 4.3

Display

4.95-inch, LCD, Full HD (1,920 x1,080 pixels), 445 ppi)

4.7-inch, LCD (1,280 x 768 pixels), 318 ppi)

Processor

Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.3 GHz

Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, 1.5 GHz

RAM

2 GB

2 GB

Internal Memory

16/32 GB

8/16 GB

Camera

8 MP (rear) with OIS, 1.3 MP (front)

8 MP (rear), 1.3 MP (front)

Battery

2,300 mAh

2,100 mAh

Connectivity

LTE, HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0

HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0

NFC

Yes

Yes

Wireless Charging

Yes

Yes

Dimensions / Weight

137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59 mm / 130 g

133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm / 139 g

Price

349 USD (16 GB) / 399 USD (32 GB)

299 USD / 349 USD (no longer available)

So there you have it, the Nexus 5 is a significant improvement over the Nexus 4 and may well stand the test of time equally well, at least until 64-bit processors take over next year.